So as I wrote in the description, I cannot seem to get the squat technique down. (with any consistency)
I started with body weight exercises (sometimes holding a PVC pipe to simulate hand / arm position), and discovered that I have some mobility issues in my hips / ankles (probably from running extreme distances for years) , so further research and watching videos about "lower cross syndorme" and other stretches have motivated me to spend time doing those before pursuing actual squats (found Scott's and Elliott's videos very informative). I also have NO arches left in my feet (think absolutely flat feet!), so I also found that removing my shoes and taking a "toes pointed out" stance did help me to get "ass to grass" with body weight only.
I'm now able to do bar only squats with a reasonable amount of consistency (after a considerable amount of warm-up stretches), but even then I sometimes find myself going on my toes (rather than pushing from the ankles), and leaning slightly forward--especially on the "up" movement. I really try to take my time on the eccentric (down) movement, keeping head up and arms forward and pointed straight down and back supine, and I usually feel pretty much "in line" on the down movement--but when I go down "ass to grass" I sometimes feel "out of balance" just as I start to go upward-so it's not a "straight" upward movement as it should be..it's hard to describe, but it's like I sort of "lose it" at the bottom and if I "follow" my body's instinct I feel like I'll fall backwards instead!
I know as a "new" squatter I need to have patience with this, but I seem to have grasped the deadlift technique quite easily, and I really FEEL my hamstings / glutes when I deadlift...however I'm not sure that I am engaging the glutes properly (if at all) when I squat.
Any ideas or suggestions?
Thanks for reading!